Roofing tool blade

ABSTRACT

A blade for a roofing tool, the tool used to remove material off a roof. The blade has a generally quadratic shape with front and rear edges joined by sides, a top surface, and a bottom surface. The bottom surface has a front section and a rear section, the front section extending rearwardly from the front edge of the blade while angling slightly away from the top surface, and the rear section extending forwardly from the back edge of the blade while angling slightly away from the top surface. The front and rear sections join to define a ridge located generally midway between the front and back edges of the blade, the ridge extending across the blade and parallel to the front edge. The blade can be rocked about the ridge to rest on either the back or front bottom section. When rocked back to rest on its back section, it can lever a roofing fastener up with its front edge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention is directed toward a blade used in a roofing tool. Theinvention is more particularly directed toward a roofing tool bladeparticularly useful in removing roofing material, such as asphaltshingles, and roofing material fasteners, such as shingle nails. Theinvention is also directed toward a roofing tool employing the blade.

2. Description of the Related Art

Roofing tools are known having a straight, flat, blade at the end of ahandle with the blade having a tapered front edge. The blade can be slidunder the edge of roofing material on a roof surface with the taperedfront edge leading. The blade can extend at an angle to the handle ofthe tool so that the tool can be levered by the handle about the frontor back edge of the blade to try to lift the roofing material off theroof surface with a main portion of the blade inserted under thematerial.

Other roofing tools are known where the blade itself is bent to formfront and rear blade portions, the blade levered by the tool handleabout the bend joining the front and rear portions to lift the frontedge of the front portion of the blade. More leverage can be applied tothe front portion of the blade by the handle since the front portionprovides a shorter lever arm between the front edge and the bendrelative to the long lever arm provided by the handle. However, a bentor angled blade is limited as to how far it can be inserted under theroofing material and thus it can take longer to remove a given amount ofmaterial than when using a straight or flat blade.

The known tools also have slots in the blade extending rearwardly fromthe front edge of the blade. The slots separate forwardly extendingteeth on the blade. The slots serve to receive the shanks of roofingfasteners such as roofing nails with the heads of the fasteners restingon adjacent teeth. The tool is operated to lever the fasteners, caughtin the slots, out of the roof.

However, the known roofing tools with straight, flat, blades havetrouble lifting ‘frozen’ fasteners, fasteners that have rusted slightlyin place and/or are tightly held by dried wood. The lifting leverageprovided by a tool with a straight blade is not always sufficient tolift tightly held nails. Some known roofing tools with straight bladescan be bent when lifting ‘frozen’ fasteners thereby limiting their use.

Also, the slots in the blades in all known roofing tools are usuallydesigned to take one size only of roofing nail. Further the slots areusually designed to merely capture the fasteners and not help ‘crack’the fasteners from the roof while guiding the fasteners into holdingslots. in addition, the known roofing tools do not have handles designedto more easily and safely lift the fasteners with the blade of the tool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is purpose of the present invention to provide a roofing tool bladethat can provide a strong lifting force to provide initial movement toeven the most tightly held roofing fasteners, so that the fasteners canbe easily removed when removing roofing material from roofs. It isanother purpose to provide a straight roofing tool blade that can beeasily inserted far under roofing material. It is another purpose of thepresent invention to provide a roofing tool blade with slots that canreceive different sizes of roofing fasteners while initially liftingthem. It is another purpose of the present invention to provide aroofing tool blade with different teeth on the front and back edges ofthe blade so the blade can be used for pulling one type and size ofroofing fastener with the teeth on the front edge and for pullinganother type and size of roofing fastener with the teeth on the backedge. It is another purpose of the present invention to provide astronger roofing tool that has a straight blade that is not easily bentduring use. It is a further purpose of the present invention to providea roofing tool with a handle that can more easily and safely manipulatethe blade of the tool.

In accordance with the present invention, a roofing tool blade isprovided with parallel front edge and rear edges, the edges joined bysides. Slots extend rearwardly from the front edge of the blade todefine forwardly extending teeth. The blade has a flat top surfaceextending rearwardly from the front edge and a slightly angled, front,bottom, surface section extending rearwardly from the front edge anddiverging away from the top surface. The front, bottom surface sectionis joined to a rear, bottom surface section, the joint forming a ridgeat about the center of the blade midway between the front and rearedges. The rear, bottom surface section extends from the ridge to therear edge of the blade. The blade is thickest at the ridge and thinnestat the front edge. The ridge provides a fulcrum point about where theblade can be slightly pivoted.

The tapered front edge of the blade when on a roofing tool can beinserted under roofing material while sliding along the front, bottomsurface section. The blade can be pivoted about the ridge to rest on therear bottom surface section to slightly lift the material to release itfrom the roof. the blade can then be pivoted about its front or backedges to further lift the material to loosen it. The tapered front edgecan also be used to position a fastener in a slot in the front edge ofthe blade. the fastener can be cracked out of the roof while travelingup the tapered front edge into the slot. If the fastener does not move,the blade can be pivoted about the ridge while the fastener is in theslot to raise the fastener initially a short distance. The lever arm forthe front, bottom surface section is relatively short, so greaterleverage is obtained to lift the fastener initially than obtained from astraight blade of uniform thickness which has to be pivoted about therear edge of the blade to provide leverage. Once the fastener has movedinitially the fastener is removed by pivoting the blade about its frontor rear edges while the fastener is in the slot.

The slots between the teeth in the front or back edge of the blade canbe shaped to have an outer slot section which is quite wide initiallyand tapers down to the mouth of an intermediate slot section which inturn tapers down to the mouth of an inner slot section. The trailingslot section extends to the end of the slot. The tapered outer slotsection is large so as to be able to easily catch and direct fastenersinto the slots. In addition, the outer slot section, with a wide tapervery gradually engages and raises a fastener. The portion of the teethadjacent the intermediate slot section will pick up the heads of themost commonly used roofing fasteners. The portion of the teeth definingthe narrow inner slot section will pick up half or broken heads ofcommon roofing fasteners.

The blade can be strengthened, if desired, by bending the blade at apoint just behind the front teeth to form a slight upstanding ridgeextending across the width of the blade, the ridge parallel with thefront edge. The blades of the present invention can be employed onroofing tools with a handle attached directly to the approximate centerof the blade and extending upwardly and rearwardly or with a handleattached to a socket on the blade, the socket extending upwardly andrearwardly.

The roofing tool can be strengthened by including a gusset between thetop front portion of the blade and the top front of a handle on the topof the blade. The gusset strengthens the blade against bending and isshaped to direct the roofing material upwardly as the blade is forcedunder the material. The tool can also have a handle bent to make thetool more efficient and safe in use.

The invention is particularly directed toward a blade for a roofing toolhaving front and rear edges joined by sides and with a flat top surfaceand a bottom surface with a front section and a rear section. The frontbottom surface section extends rearwardly from the front edge of theblade while angling slightly away from the top surface, and the rearbottom surface section extends forwardly from the rear edge. The frontand rear sections join to define a ridge generally midway between thefront and rear edges of the blade. The ridge is at the thickest portionof the blade and extends across the blade and is parallel to the frontedge of the blade.

The invention is further particularly directed toward a blade for aroofing tool having front and rear edges, the blade having slotsextending inwardly from at least one of the front and rear edges to formoutwardly extending teeth. Each slot is defined by adjacent teeth andhas an outer section that tapers inwardly from an outer mouth to collectand direct a nail into the slot. The slot has an intermediate sectionfollowing the outer section that tapers inwardly at a greater angle thanthe outer section tapers inwardly to have the adjacent teeth definingthe section support fastener heads of varying size. An inner sectionfollows the intermediate section and is of generally uniform width toreceive the shanks of fasteners.

The invention is further directed toward a blade for a roofing toolhaving front and rear edges and sides joining the front and rear edges.A handle extends up from about the center of the top surface of theblade. Teeth are formed in the blade extending rearwardly from the frontedge. The blade is bent just behind the teeth to form a slight ridge inthe top of the blade extending across the width of the blade.

The invention is further directed toward a blade for a roofing toolhaving front and rear edges and sides joining the front and rear edges.A handle extends up from about the center of the top surface of theblade. Teeth are formed in the blade extending rearwardly from the frontedge. A gusset is provided on the top of the blade joined both to thetop surface of the blade in front of the socket and to the top of thesocket, the top surface of the gusset curved upwardly to smoothly mergewith both the top of the blade and with the top of the socket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a roofing tool with the blade of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the blade;

FIG. 3 is a detail plan view showing the slots and teeth on the front ofthe blade;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the blade, in partial cross-section, catching aroofing nail;

FIG. 5 is a side view similar to FIG. 4 but with the blade in a positionafter pivoting it about the bottom ridge;

FIG. 6 is a detail cross-section view showing a tapered tooth on theblade;

FIG. 7 is a detail plan view of shaped teeth on the blade;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a blade with a trapping slot;

FIG. 9 is a side view of another variation of the blade;

FIG. 10 is a side view of a further variation of the blade;

FIG. 11 is a partial side view of the tool with reinforcing featuresthereon; and

FIG. 12 is a side view of the tool showing the handle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The blade 1 of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is tobe used with a handle 3 to provide a roofing tool 5. The blade 1 hasfront and rear edges 7, 9 and sides 11 joining the edges. The blade ispreferably of quadratic shape and so the edges 7, 9 are parallel and thesides 11 are parallel and transverse to the edges. The blade has a topsurface 13 that is preferably flat and a bottom surface 15 that has afront, bottom, surface section 17 and a rear, bottom, surface section19. The front and back bottom surface sections are flat. The front,bottom, surface section 17 angles slightly away from the top surface 13as it extends rearwardly from the front edge 7. The rear bottom surfacesection 19 angles slightly away from the top surface 13 as it extendsforwardly from the rear edge 9. The front and rear bottom surfacesections 17, 19 connect at about the center of the blade to form a ridge21 which is parallel to the front and rear edges 7, 9 and extends acrossthe blade between the sides 11. The blade tapers in thickness movingfrom the ridge 21 toward both the front and back edges 7, 9.

The drawings slightly exaggerate the angulation of the bottom surfacesections 17, 19 with respect to the top surface 13. Generally, the blademight be about six inches in length between the front and rear edges 7,9 with the ridge 21 being about three inches from each edge. The bladeat the edges 7, 9 might be about one sixteenth of an inch thick andanywhere from three sixteenths to five sixteenths of an inch thick atthe ridge 21. The blade is thickest at the ridge 21. The angle β betweenthe top surface and the front and rear bottom surfaces can range between3° and 5°. While the ridge 21 has been described as being midway betweenthe front and rear edges, it can also be slightly off-center, ranging,on a six inch long blade for example, anywhere from between two and onehalf inches and three and one half inches from the front edge. The ridge21 is best located at the center of the blade however to have teeth onboth the front and rear edges 7, 9, to be described, located equidistantfrom the ridge.

The handle 3 can be a wooden handle fixedly mounted in a socket 23, thesocket welded to the top center of the blade and angled rearwardly andupwardly about forty five degrees as shown. Alternatively, the handle 3can be a metal rod or tube and welded at one end to the top surface 13of the blade 1, the handle located generally in the center of the bladeand angled rearwardly and upwardly about forty five degrees.

At least the front of the blade 1 has fastener receiving slots 29extending rearwardly from the front edge 7 of the blade. The slots 29define a set 31 of spaced-apart forwardly extending teeth 33 as shown indetail in FIG. 3. The sides 35 of the teeth 33 are parallel and thefronts 37 of the teeth 33 are angled from the sides 35 to a roundedpoint 39. The angled fronts 37 of the teeth 33 define a tapered, outer,slot portion 41 for each slot 29. The tapered, outer, slot portion41.provides an entrance and leads to an inner, uniform-width, slotportion 43 defined by the sides 35 of the teeth 33. The inner slotportions 43 are wide enough to receive the shank of a standard roofingfastener but not wide enough to pass the head of the fastener and aresubstantially longer than the outer slot portions 41. The teeth 33 areof course tapered to increase in thickness moving away from the front ofthe teeth. The angled fronts 37 of the teeth can be beveled laterally,if desired, as shown at 44, to make it easier for the head of thefastener to move up onto the teeth.

The structure of the blade 1 is well suited for use in lifting roofingmaterial, and particularly in lifting roofing fasteners that are tightlyheld by the roof. The thin, front edge 7 of the blade 1 can be easilyslid under the edge of roofing material resting on its front bottomsurface section 17. Since the front bottom surface section is only abouthalf the length of the blade, friction is much less as the blade slideson the roof as compared to a flat, substantially uniform-thickness,blade riding on its entire length. The blade 1 can be pivoted about itsridge 21 to help loosen the material being removed and the blade canalso be pivoted about its front or back edges 7, 9 to further loosen andremove material.

If the blade encounters a tightly held roofing nail ‘N’ as shown in FIG.4, the shank ‘S’ of the nail slides into a nail receiving slot 29 as theblade moves forward and the head ‘H’ of the nail rides up on the sidesof the teeth 33 adjacent the slot. The nail riding up on the sides ofthe tapered teeth 33 may ‘crack’ it loose from the wood. However, if itdoes not, the blade is levered about its ridge 21 by the tool handle 3to slightly lift the teeth 33 until the blade rests on the roof surfaceon its rear bottom surface section 19 as shown in FIG. 5. The relativelyshort arm from the ridge 21 to the slots 29 on the front of the blade,compared to the length of the handle, provides good leverage to ‘crack’the tight nail from the grip of the dry wood and slightly lift it. Thenail does not move far but it is not meant to initially. Once the nailis ‘cracked’ and initially moved, it can be more easily pulled out bypivoting the blade about either its front or back edges.

If desired, the teeth can be made more tapered in thickness front toback by angling them from front to back at a slightly greater angle thanthe angle at which the front bottom surface is angled to the topsurface. The angling can be on the top of the teeth 33 as shown bysurface 45 in FIG. 6 but it can also be on the bottom of the teeth ifdesired. The angling extends for a length no greater than the length ofthe teeth. The more tapered teeth may be shorter and are thinner attheir leading edge making it easier to insert the teeth under material.The more tapered teeth may also make it easier to ‘crack’ somefasteners.

A set 46 of teeth can be provided on the rear edge 9 of the blade whichare the same as the set 31 of teeth 33 on the front edge. This allowsthe tool to be used in either direction to pull fasteners. Preferably,however, one set 31 of teeth are sized to provide slots that receive onesize of roofing fasteners, such as asphalt shingle nails, and the otherset 46 of teeth can be sized to provide slots that receive smaller sizeof roofing fasteners, such as the nails used for cedar shakes.

The blade can be provided with shaped slots between the teeth. Theshaped slots have several advantages. They make it easier for thefasteners to enter the slots and to move to the end of the slots. Theymake it easier to try to ‘crack’ the fastener. They also make it easierto sharpen the teeth to maintain their utility, particularly the leadingportion of the teeth at the mouth of the slot where most wear occurs.The shaped slots 51, as shown in FIG. 7, define shaped teeth 53 betweenthe slots. The shaped teeth 53 each have an outer, angled section 55defined by front sides 57 leading rearwardly from a rounded front point59 on the tooth and diverging rearwardly from each other by an angleranging from between 80° and 100°. The tapered front sides 57 of theouter section 55 normally diverge from each other more than the frontsides of a normal pointed tooth of the type shown in FIG. 3.

The outer, angled section 55 is followed by an intermediate, angledsection 61 defined by intermediate sides 63 extending rearwardly fromthe front sides 57. The intermediate sides 63 are slightly longer thanthe front sides 57 and diverge from front to back do but not as muchfront sides. The intermediate sides 63 would diverge from each other byan angle ranging from between 30° and 60°. The tooth has a inner,straight section 65, behind the intermediate section 61, defined bystraight, parallel, sides 67 leading rearwardly from the intermediatesides 63. The straight sides 67 are longer than the intermediate sides63.

The slot 51 between adjacent teeth 53 has a wide, tapered, outer, slotsection 71 between the front sides 53 of the teeth, and a taperedintermediate slot section 73, following the outer slot section 71,between the intermediate sides 63 of the teeth. The outer slot section71 provides entry to the intermediate slot section 73. The intermediateslot section 73 converges toward a narrow inner slot section 75 ofuniform width between the straight sides 67 of the teeth.

A front side 57 of the outer angled section 55 of a tooth initiallypicks up the fastener head entering a slot and moves both sideways andforwardly relative to the fastener, gently and easily raising the head aslight distance due to the taper in thickness of the outer section ofthe tooth, and initially ‘cracking’ the fastener out of the wood. Thefastener head in this stage moves relatively to the tooth on only oneside of the tooth and moves about as fast sideways as forwardly thusgently easing the fastener head up. The fastener then moves onto theintermediate angled section, the tooth now moving relatively fasterforwardly than sideways since the intermediate sides of the teeth arenot angled as much as the outer sides. Since the tooth has beeninitially cracked it is now easier to raise the fastener in theintermediate angled section and in this section the fastener headbecomes supported between two adjacent teeth. Continued relativemovement of the fastener occurs in moving into, and along the length of,the inner slot section, the taper in thickness of the blade continuallyraising the fastener.

The inner slot in both embodiments has been described as having parallelsides. However, the inner slot can also have the sides converging towardthe closed end of the inner slot so as to be able to pick up finishingnails by their head as well as other types of fasteners with smallerheads. In this case fasteners with larger shanks will not travel to theclosed end of the slot.

While the shaped slots have been described as being in a blade thattapers in thickness from its middle to each edge, the slots can also beused in a blade that is flat and of even thickness except for beingtapered in the area of the teeth, the teeth tapering to a thin frontedge as is known.

A blade 1″ can also be provided having at least one fastener trappingslot in a side of the blade. The blade 1″ can be a blade as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the blade tapering from a relatively thick middle to thinfront and back edges.(The teeth in the front and rear edges are notshown). The trapping slot 87 is a slot that extends inwardly from theside 85 of the blade, angled toward the front edge 81 of the blade.Because the blade tapers in thickness, the trapping slot should belocated as close to the front edge as possible. The sides 89, 89′ of theslot 87 are parallel. The slot 87 operates to trap or catch the shank‘S’ of a nail ‘N’ as the side 85 of the blade is drawn rearwardlyagainst and past the shank ‘S’ as shown by the arrow ‘A’. As the mouth91 of the slot 87 passes by the shank ‘S’ as the blade is drawnrearwardly, the blade moves slightly toward the shank, the shank partlyentering the mouth 91 of the slot 87. The pointed nose 93 of the bladeat the mouth 91 of the slot 87 helps catch the shank ‘S’ and move itfurther into the slot 81 as the blade continues its rearward movement.The blade 1″ can then be rotated while flat on its bottom surface tomove the shank to the bottom of the slot and to then lever the nail outof the wood. Preferably, the side 89′ of the slot nearest the rear edge83 can be rounded at the mouth 91 of the slot as shown at 95 to make iteasier for the shank of a nail to enter the slot. A trapping slot 87 canbe provided on both sides of the blade.

The blade described in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a bottom surface with both thefront and rear sections of the surface angled with respect to the topsurface, the front and rear bottom sections joining to form a ridge. Theblade 101 can be effective however with a rear bottom section 119 of thebottom surface 115 that is not angled but rather parallel to the topsurface 113 as shown in FIG. 9. In this embodiment, the front edge 107of the blade will not be moved as much about the ridge 121, when theblade is pivoted about the ridge, before the rear bottom section 119abuts against the roof surface as it would be moved if the rear bottomsection were also angled. However, the movement will sufficient to‘crack’ many nails. In this embodiment, the rear edge 109 remains thick,as thick as the blade is at the ridge 121, and this blade would have norear teeth for use in withdrawing fasteners.

In another embodiment, the blade, as shown in FIG. 9, may be modified tohave the rear section 122 of the top surface 113 of the blade angleddown to the bottom rear section 119 of the bottom surface 115, as shownin FIG. 10, to provide a thin rear edge 110 that can have teeth (notshown) therein.

Any of the blades, including flat blades of uniform thickness with atapered front edge portion, can be strengthened by bending the blade 201just behind the front teeth to form a small ridge 202 in the bladeextending across the width of the blade as shown in FIG. 11. The ridge202 is parallel to the front edge 207 of the blade. The ridge 202 alsoserves to direct the roofing material upwardly away from the blade.

Any of the blades can be further strengthened by welding a curved gusset220 between the top surface 213 of the blade in front of the handle andthe front portion 222 of the socket 223 as shown in FIG. 11. The gusset220 merges smoothly between the top surface 213 of the blade and thefront of the socket 223. The curved gusset 220 strengthens the blade 201and also directs roofing material away from the blade up the handle.

The tool has been shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with a socket and a woodenhandle extending from the socket. The tool 205 can also have a metalhandle 203′, the handle welded at its front end 224 to the top surface213 of the blade 201 and having a relatively short front portion 226extending upwardly and rearwardly from the blade as shown in FIG. 12 atan angle of about forty five degrees. The handle can be tubular orsolid. The handle 203′ can have a slight downward bend 228 near theblade 201 to position the grip portion 230 of the handle 203′ of thetool in a better position for the user of the tool. The grip portion 230is relatively long compared to the front portion 226, the grip portionbeing gripped during use near its far end spaced from the front portion226. The grip portion 230 extends at an angle to the blade which issubstantially less than the angle at which the front portion of thehandle extends to the blade. The grip portion 230, being lowered duringuse due to bend 228, allows the user to more easily insert the toolblade under material, while the front portion 226 of the handle,extending at about a forty five degree angle to the blade, still allowsthe user to lever the blade upwardly. The handle 203′ can have a secondbend 232 just behind the grip portion 230 to angle the rear portion 234of the handle, just behind the grip portion 230, downwardly. This allowsthe rear portion 234 of the handle to hit the roof surface first andprotect the hand of the user on the grip portion 230, just above therear portion 234, from hitting the roof surface when maneuvering thetool to lift material and fasteners. The tool 205 with the handle 203′is shown with a blade as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, the tool canhave any kind of blade with any type of teeth and any type of bladereinforcing means.

The tool can also include an impact receiving member 236 on the handle203′ just above the blade 201 as shown in FIG. 12. The member 236 cancomprise a cylindrical bar 238, the bar 238 welded onto the frontportion 226 of the handle 203′ and extending transverse to it, the bar238 parallel with the front edge 207 of the blade 201. The bar 238 canbe hit by the user with a hammer to force the tool forward when needed,such as when cutting roofing material. The impact receiving member 236could be a square bar instead of cylindrical, or it could have othershapes. The member 236 could also be attached to the top of the blade ifdesired instead of on the handle as shown. The impact receiving memberis also wide enough to allow the user to step on it to help force theblade downwardly into the roofing material. The impact receiving membercould also be attached to the socket of a tool employing a woodenhandle.

1. A blade for a roofing tool having front and rear edges joined bysides, a top surface, and a bottom surface; the bottom surface having afront, bottom surface section and a rear, bottom surface section, thefront, bottom surface section extending rearwardly from the front edgeof the blade while angling slightly away from the top surface, and therear, bottom surface section extending forwardly from the rear edge; thefront and rear bottom surface sections joining to define a ridge locatedgenerally midway between the front and rear edges of the blade, theridge at the thickest portion of the blade and extending across theblade and parallel to the front edge, the blade tapering in thicknessfrom the ridge to the front edge to provide a thin front edge.
 2. Ablade as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rear bottom surface sectionangles upwardly from the ridge toward the top surface, the bladetapering in thickness from the ridge to the rear edge to provide a thinrear edge on the blade.
 3. A blade as claimed in claim 1 wherein the topsurface has a front top surface section and a rear top surface section,the rear top surface section angling downwardly toward the bottom rearsurface section of the bottom surface, the blade tapering in thicknessfrom the ridge to the rear edge to provide a thin rear edge.
 4. A bladeas claimed in claim 2 wherein the top surface is flat, and the front andrear bottom surface sections diverge from the top surface, from thefront and rear edges respectively, by an angle ranging between 3° and5°.
 5. A blade as claimed in claim 4 wherein the blade has a thicknessof about one sixteenth of an inch at the front and rear edges, and theblade has a thickness at the ridge of between three sixteenths and fivesixteenths of an inch.
 6. A blade as claimed in claim 2 including a setof fastener receiving slots extending rearwardly from the front edge ofthe blade to define teeth between the slots, each tooth having arelatively short front portion that tapers to the front of the tooth toa rounded point and a relatively long body portion with parallel sides,each tooth tapering in thickness toward the front edge.
 7. A blade asclaimed in claim 2 including a set of fastener receiving slots extendingrearwardly from the front edge of the blade to define teeth between theslots; each tooth having a relatively short front portion that tapers tothe front of the tooth to a rounded point; an intermediate taperedportion extending rearwardly from the front portion, the intermediateportion slightly longer than the front portion and not tapered from backto front as much as the front portion; and a body portion with parallelsides, the body portion longer than the intermediate portion; each toothtapering in thickness toward the front edge.
 8. A blade as claimed inclaim 7 wherein the sides of the front portion of the tooth diverge fromeach other from the point of the tooth at an angle ranging betweeneighty and one hundred degrees.
 9. A blade as claimed in claim 2including a trapping slot in at least one side of the blade, the slotextending inwardly and forwardly toward the front edge of the blade andsized to receive the shank of a fastener.
 10. A blade as claimed inclaim 6 including a trapping slot in at least one side of the blade, theslot extending inwardly and forwardly toward the front edge of the bladeand sized to receive the shank of a fastener.
 11. A blade as claimed inclaim 6 including a second set of fastener receiving slots extendingforwardly from the back edge of the blade, the second set of slots sizedto receive fasteners with shanks of a different size than the shanks offasteners received by the set of slots in the front edge.
 12. A blade asclaimed in claim 6 including a strengthening ridge formed in the bladejust behind the front teeth, the ridge extending across the width of theblade, the ridge above the top surface of the blade.
 13. A blade for aroofing tool having front and back edges and sides joining the front andback edges; the blade having slots extending inwardly from at least oneof the front and back edges to form outwardly extending teeth; each slotdefined by adjacent teeth and having an outer section that tapersinwardly from an outer mouth to collect and direct a fastener into theslot; the slot having an intermediate section following the outersection that tapers inwardly to a lesser degree than the outer sectionand the slot having an inner section following the intermediate sectionand of generally uniform width to receive the shanks of fasteners.
 14. Ablade as claimed in claim 13 wherein the sides of the outer section ofthe slot converge toward each other from the mouth of the slot at anangle ranging between eighty and one hundred degrees.
 15. A blade asclaimed in claim 13 including a trapping slot in at least one side ofthe blade, the slot extending inwardly and forwardly toward the frontedge of the blade and sized to receive the shank of a fastener, the sideof the trapping slot nearest the rear edge of the blade rounded at themouth of the slot to make entry of the fastener shank into the sloteasier.
 16. a blade as claimed in claim 13 including a strengtheningridge formed in the blade just behind the front teeth, the ridgeextending across the width of the blade, the ridge above the top surfaceof the blade.
 17. A blade for a roofing tool having front and back edgesand sides joining the front and back edges; the blade having slotsextending inwardly from the front edge to form forwardly extendingteeth; and a strengthening ridge formed in the blade just behind thefront teeth, the ridge extending across the width of the blade, theridge above the top surface of the blade.
 18. A blade for a roofing toolhaving front and rear edges joined by sides, the blade having a firstset of slots extending rearwardly into the front edge to form a firstset of front teeth which extend forwardly, the first set of slots sizedto receive the shanks of one size of fastener, a second set of slotsextending forwardly into the rear edge to form a second set of rearteeth which extend rearwardly, the second set of slots sized to receivethe shanks of a second size of fastener.
 19. A blade as claimed in claim18 including a strengthening ridge formed in the blade just behind thefront teeth, the ridge extending across the width of the blade, theridge above the top surface of the blade.
 20. A roofing tool having ablade, the blade having front and back edges and sides joining the frontand back edges; the blade having slots extending inwardly from the frontedge to form forwardly extending teeth; a handle extending upwardly andrearwardly away from the front edge from about the center of the blade,a gusset on the top of the blade, the gusset extending from the topsurface of the blade, in front of the handle to the lower front portionof the handle near the blade and fastened to both the blade and thehandle, the top of the gusset curved upwardly to have the gusset mergesmoothly with the top surface of the blade and with the lower front ofthe handle.
 21. A tool as claimed in claim 20 including a strengtheningridge formed in the blade just behind the teeth, the ridge extendingacross the width of the blade, the ridge above the top surface of theblade.
 22. A roofing tool having a blade, the blade having front andback edges and sides joining the front and back edges; the blade havingslots extending inwardly from the front edge to form forwardly extendingteeth; a handle, the handle divided by a bend near the front of thehandle into a relatively short front portion and a relatively long gripportion; the front portion of the handle attached to about the center ofthe blade and extending upwardly and rearwardly from the blade at afirst angle; the grip portion of the handle extending at a second angleto the blade which is substantially less than the first angle.
 23. Atool as claimed in claim 22 wherein the handle has a short rear portionbent down from the end of the grip portion to extend toward the roofwhen the tool is in use.
 24. A tool as claimed in claim 22 including astrengthening ridge formed in the blade just behind the front teeth, theridge extending across the width of the blade, the ridge above the topsurface of the blade.
 25. A tool as claimed in claim 22 including agusset on the top of the blade, the gusset extending from the topsurface of the blade, in front of the handle to the lower front portionof the handle near the blade and fastened to both the blade and thesocket, the top of the gusset curved upwardly to have the gusset mergesmoothly with the top surface of the blade and with the lower front ofthe handle.